Wood Boat Plans And Kits | Why are Chris Petterson Flip Pallot and the advertising crew at Hells Bay Boatworks re writing the history of Hells Bay Boatworks The true story behind who is the real founder of Hells Bay Boatworks and why

Wood Boat Plans And Kits

 I feel I have to tell my side of this story to set the record straight. To record in print and pictures what the owner and president of Hells Bay Boatworks, Chris Petterson, Todd Fuller and other employees in advertising with his companys representative, Flip Pallot have not done to date.

Why do I feel I need to do this? Bring up the past and muck around in the present.

I feel I owe it to Hal Chittum for offering me an opportunity to excel in my chosen craft. 

Because it is my story as much as it is Hals and Flips.

 The above mentioned have written and produced 3 videos on the history of the Hells Bay skiff #1 and how it came about and how they, along with it, changed the course of flats boat thinking and history. At least that is what they are trying to make you believe.This is a great advertising agenda because there is a new generation of buyers out there that were young adults when HB started. Building a company image around a fishing legend and the origin of a skiff with the way it was built is a great strategy. But changing the story to suit your agenda is not. Not in todays instant access to information. 

The general story lines start out as true in that Flip was one of the four founding partners in a boat building company called Hells Bay Boatworks. From there it gets very losely told and edited around Flip Pallot with barely an acknowledgment of Hal and Jammie Chittum. I get allocades from Flip for some of my alleged skills and get the association of being the skiffs designer only on Hells Bays Home internet page written up as Hells Bays " Visonary boats designer" yet on this same page there is no mention of Hall Chittum. Here is the old picture of the three of us that my wife Rachel took with Flips camera in Mimms one early morning. Today Its just me and Flip "the founders of Hells Bay." Baloney!

These videos contain many of what I will call miss truths. Calling it lies is too strong of a word for here. I feel that Chris Petterson, Todd Fuller and the other people that work for the Pettersons are just turning a blind eye and dont really want to know the truth. I can say this because they have never followed up on offers of giving them all the written history of HB that I have. 

When selling out my shares of Hells Bay to my Partners the Chittums and Flip Pallot I signed a document that said I would agree to a lifetime of never sueing them over HB and not saying anything that could be construed as derogatory to the three partners. An old southern friend of mine would say "Chris, you will have to couch your words very carefully here". I will do my best.

This is my keep my mouth shut document.

Yesterday I got an email from Hells Bay with its latest news. I didnt know that I was on their email list untill now. Flip Pallot was being lauded for being "THE" founder of HBBWs by them and getting inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame. Well done Flip. Except you were not "THE" founder of Hells Bay Boatworks.

What I hope to explain and describe in these following words, pictures and facts is how the history of a simple skiffs oringins can be retold in such a misleading way that the true story could be lost forever. By printing one misleading word out of context, leaving out a persons name, and producing advertising to suit your agenda while possibly trying to create a new Brand Name by discarding the original story line and people along the way.

I wont let that happen for several reasons.

The first reason is that I am part of Hells Bays history from before day one. I have a wife and kids that were there from day one watching the company grow with my involvement and commitment to it.

We feel that the story should be told true and straight.

 Second is the simple fact that it was Hal Chittum that got me into the flats boat world back in 1983. 

He also hired me to design and build hull # 1. This skiff became the " Whipray" that started Hells Bay Boatworks.

Hal Chittum brought his friend Flip Pallot into the company as a salesman, company representative and  as a friend and mentor. Hal and his wife Jammie Chittum put up all the money to start HB.

The Chittums are a team. When I say Hal from here on assume both the Chittums.

I want to explain why Hal Chittum should be known as "THE" founder of Hells Bay and not Flip Pallot and surely not me. We all played our different roles that made this simple skiff into a great company.

The last is simple. I feel that you the consumers, the people that feed the industry at all levels should not be mislead. You are all buying into a products history. If the current owners cant tell the story straight now then what are they doing in misleading advertising about how they are building their boats?

This blog will start out with a story of how one word can change the perception of a product and how a very good magazine got into a bunch of trouble with its advertisers for sloppy editorial work....or maybe they just for once wanted to tell the truth.

 

I love reading magazines while my wife does the grocery shopping. I know from past experience when trying to get our Hells Bay skiff written up in a fishing magazine that it was impossible to get into one unless you bought advertising first. So with this past knowledge I read everything with a prejudiced  eye towards the truth. Ever notice why all the boats or products that buy full page adds get all the attention in that magazine? 

It took until we built and had the "Guide Skiff" selling well along side the " Whipray" and the early "Waterman" skiffs that we had spent enough advertising space and money in Fly Fishing in Salt Waters that with Flip and Hals connections they lined up the writer Dean Travis Clarke to stop by our shop to go for a test ride in our skiffs and write up a New Boats article about Hells Bay and our skiffs.

1999 add in Florida Sportsman Magazine. Flip took the photo and did the add copy signing all our names because he did it at home. Thats his wife Diane on the bow with I belive Ted Jurasick poling.

I wish I could write my name that neat.

Hal and Flip had a days events planned for Mr. Clarke. He was a big guy so they were worried about how he would do in our light weight skiffs. They were not sure if he could get up on the tower to pole the skiff. 

They started his days out by a brief visit to the shop meeting me and talking for a couple sentences and then they were off to go airboating and bird shooting. After being out with Flip in his custom airboat and all the great skills he has in running it shooting a bunch of birds and seeing the St Johns river like never before they stopped for lunch in Mimms best Bar-B-Que restaurant.

From here they went down to the Mosquito Lagoon in a back area ramp and show cased our two skiffs.

Afterwords when Hal came back to the shop he said it went so well and that Dean was very happy.

The boat test article that came out is a builders dream revue. I did not get mentioned in it but my designs did. That was enough for me. BUT when the publishers edited it they missed out in not changing one simple word from "THE" to "ONE OF".

By Dean Travis Clarke saying that he had fished "THE" best in the world and the Magazines editor not changing it to quell all the other skiff builders that were advertising in their magazine they were bombarded by Hewes , Maverick, Action Craft and the others demanding equal billing or they would drop their full page adds and leave.

If you have old copies of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters look at the issue right after this review. Sheesh so much grandstanding and full page adds.

Thats why when FFSW published the article by Jan Vogt on the new flats fishing boats all of the advertising manufacturers had to be mentioned along side the Hells Bays new Whipray skiff and the new market of emerging technical skiffs. At that point the other builders were just trying to figure out what we were up to. The only one that has is Scott Deal and his Maverick HPX. Action Craft has always been doing fine in their own market niche.

Ive passed on this tale of Hells Bays history to show how one word can be used to convey a thought. So maybe Chris Peterson and Flip Pallot believe that Flip really is "THE" founder of Hells Bay.

I dissagree.

In todays instant world of Internet news and information anything you say or do in print or pictures that is in social media is pretty much for all to see. By just writing this blog post today with prominent peoples names they will show up online pretty close to their home Google page sites within hours.

This is why I try to "couch" my words carefully when talking of others. 

 The fact that Chris Petterson, and Flip Pallot have decided to erase the name of Hal Chittum from the companys home page on its internet site have confused me. By leaving bits and pieces of old Hells Bay Boatworks past advertizing jargon text in its home page and then editing out Hal Chittums name in this and the photo of the three of us standing behind our Whipray skiff to me is embarrassing for Chris Peterrson and quite naive.

By going back 10-12 pages when Googling any of the three founders names its the three of us being talked about in others blog pages, group sites, magazine and newspaper articals.

Today its now just me and Flip on Hells Bay Google, no Hal Chittum. Its gotten so that all kinds of people that are new to Hells Bay on the Internet just think of the old Hells Bay as just Flip and I. All journalist, blog writers and Magazines shame on you for not researching this better. It is bad for your reputation to just copy from the letterhead.

Let me tell you its very far from the truth.

See.. It was Hal Chittum, Chris Morejohn and Flip Pallot. Originally.

 

After I sold my shares of HBBWs to the Chittums they sold HB. The new owner of HB , Brian Brodrick dropped my name from the companys history too!

Heres the HBs new company brochure after I sold out. Its just Hal and Flip now.

When you do this kind of editing for leaving the fold or not being part of the team anymore I feel it just shows your past customers and future ones what kind of people you really are.

I observed this kind of behavior with my daughters during their teenage years amongst other young girls. Very mean and vicious behavior against my girls for not wanting to be like rest.

Sad to see this going on today with adult men. 

When Hal Chittum hired me to start and run HBBWs he paid me a wage of $20.00 an hour for my labour to be kept track of by me along with the Chittums offering me a 24% share in the company. It took them over a year to get me the share stock but I did get it and thats what I sold back to them when I left. I kept track of all the companys employees times and all expenses. This information I faxed back and forth for the first year daily to Jammie Chittum in the Florida Keys. Jammie wrote all the checks. I have all the faxes and info today.

The Chittums paid my salary and all expenses when on the road during boat shows or when smoozing clients. I felt they were my bosses and clients at the same time. I had to build the boats and get things done to make sure their money was well spent.

I always looked at the relationship between the Chittums and I as they owned the majority stock so held the cards, I had the knowledge, skill and drive to build and run the shop, and that Flip was always to be looked at as Hals buddy that had the TV show and the following that would bring the people to OUR HOUSE  to buy. I have borrowed Flips term. I like it. 

Hal and I had in past years talked tons so we had a very good rapore together. Flip I barely knew.

When we went to boat shows I drove the skiff out by myself to Texas and set up the pool and booth on my own. Hal and Flip flew in and never lifted a finger. This I expected as Hal was running the show, I was the worker bee and Flip was the honey along side our skiff to lure the customers to our booth. This went on for my entire time I was at HB.

In the early stages of HBs advertising Flip wrote some of our copy. I was busy building the skiffs to make payroll and keep things flowing. The Chittums were living in the Florida Keys building other HTCHITTUM stores.  The first HB brochure was written by Hal in the Florada keys and sent up to me to mail out to anyone that called for a brochure or came by. We brought this brochure to our first boat show in Huston.

Hal goes on to talk about our new company and the three of us. He is listed as the founder of Hells Bay in the first line. I wish this could be shown clearer. The Whipray is listed for a bare hull ready to rig for $9,600.00 . Hal goes on to describe our companys goals and what we were all about. All the skiff drawings are by me with my ideas at that point for what was to become the Waterman line of skiffs. Hall does a whole page on his mothership idea plans. The date is October 3rd 1997.

Just after I had finished building the Guide and its molds with the HB crew Flip sent this phamplet by to be sent out to all the people who were on our mailing list. By then a few hundred. When my wife Rachel read this she flipped out. She was pissed. I was disappointed. For me it was sad to see a man who had almost nothing to do with a design and the day to day process of engineering and building of our skiffs to say "Chris we need a big Whipray for the guides to use" and then claim to have designed it and the Whipray too.

In this brochure it goes on to contradict what Hal says in our first brochure to say "that we had met  quite by accident to build two skiffs that he had designed"! This story line trend continues to this day in The Hells Bay videos. The most significant thing that Flip says in the #1 hull skiff story video is that he wishes that skiff could not tell the stories it has heard. If it could it would have flipped the three of them out of it for so many fish tales. If you have one of these brochures they should be very rare.

I felt at the time to just keep quiet and keep things rolling. I had a family to feed, a new boat to build as our future home and wanted to just get on with it. I said no more of Flip thinking hes going to say he designed the skiffs to Hal. When someone claims to have helped design and develop the original Maverick skiff with its deep vee. What does it mean. The hull was a knock off of someone elses design and labour. The deck is pretty simple. So what actually was the involvement? What type of carpet to use, to make the hatch channels drain in to lockers.

Lets get real here. When I say Ive been involved in a boats design and build it means Ive got drawings on paper, dust on my pants and I am itchy.

Over the years Flip has told the story of how Hells Bay started by using the under a tree we got together and decided to build three skiffs for our shelves story line. Well Flip does have big trees in his backyard drive way. But it all started in his garage with he and Hal asking me to design and build an interior for an ultimate john boat. Im the guy that talked them into the Whipray. Flip was there because he and Hal were friends, they had always talked boats and Hal thought of me as the go to guy. Thats why he called me, not Flip.

I at the time wanted a good job, a bigger sailboat to be built by me and an escape time to get me and my family back out on the sea. Hal Chittum provided me with this opportunity, not Flip Pallot.

This thing that Flip keeps bringing up about the three of us wanting a skiff for each of us is so out there. I had two young girls and a simple sailboat that we lived in and no car. What in the world would I want with a flats fly fishing skiff in my life. Plus I can build what I want on my own, especially a 16 375 lb skiff.

Please somebody at HB edit and research Flips stories.

Selling my shares of Hells Bay back to the Chittums took almost a year of back and forth. It was not a fun process for me. During my time at Hells Bay on many occasions I asked my partners to just let me give back my shares and let me go on my way. For me the behind the scenes dynamics, working hours and dealing with employees was too much for me at times. They always insited that I not do this and tried to find a ways to help me in my work load. 

By keeping my shares and eventually selling them back to the Chittums I made a bit of money which enabled me to buy my land in the Bahamas and get ahead. I will always be thankful to all three of them for this.

 But I did earn my shares.

The first video of Flip talking to Chris Peterson about How Hells Bay came about is painful for me or any of my family to watch. Mostly for Flip as its plain to us he looks very uncomfortable in it trying to please his boss. But he does mention Hal Chittum briefly. I have already gone over all the miss truths and discrepancies In a past post. Basically embarrassing to me, Chris Petterson and crew for producing this video with no back ground check or veting. 

The #1 skiff story video is part fun to watch for me and painful again to see the bad editing and Flip so uncomfortable trying to remember the past. Here again he just barely mentions Hal Chittum again.

I loved seeing my old skiff build flying along. Iam dismayed when Flip says it was all broken to pieces when being towed across the Gulf Stream. Sure looks good to me. Show me where all the pieces were put back together. Again he talks about us and the three skiffs. Sheesh ... Move on Flip. He talks about my Americas cup boat knowledge. That reference came from 50 boats on when we were trying to build the platinum skiff using Vacume bagging for the first time. An Americas cup designer gave us the materials and layup schedule for these three skiffs. It was a total failure. Flip got way ahead of the story line there.

The drawings shown in the video were all drawn by me. I gave them to Chris Petterson as a thank you for putting my name back on the Hells Bay Letterhead. The pictures too of building the skiff under the tarps.

Flip uses his standard two hands together veeing down to try and describe how he was part of the Whiprays design process using the word cleaving again as he did in the first video. What he really was looking for when the three of us met in his garage leaning over his aluminum john boat was a really nice water tight interior for his flat bottom aluminum banger of a skiff. 

If you dont believe me ask my wife or Hal Chittum, they were there.

The third video out called " Uncharted" is a wonderful picture. It brought tears to my eyes seeing my old skiff, listening to Flips narration and the images shown of south Florida. Its a great story that Flip tells in his classic way. I loved it. And to think that a skiff I designed on the table in my 32 yawl and built under a tree and plastic tarp could change an industry, my life and my familys for the Better and have touched so many lives. Bravo Chris Petterson, the cinematographers and Flip Pallot for such a good feel good picture.

This picture is about Flip and his lifes story. Its produced by the company he represents and they get his good will and vibes by being associated with him and it. Good business there.

Hal and I get our two seconds in as being Flips partners in his search for the quest of freedom.

You have to know that we were as we are not named, only by assumed knowledge.

This is the kind of advertising that you can do to create a great name brand. Fishing legend, and a product that started out as a game changer. All bought and paid for after all the hard work was done.

When My name was dropped by Hells Bay when I left I was off sailing the Atlantic with my family. At the time I thought it was immature. I knew that the new owners were going to have their hands full without me being around for the basic simple advice and knowledge that I have of building boats.

The rest is history.

What Chris Petterson and all of you should know is that what made HB work was that the three off us brought three different qualitys and skills to the table when starting Hells Bay.

Hal Chittum brought good buisness knowledge, lots of contacts in the industry, a drive and quest to build the best and the cash backing to make it work as long as I could do my job.

Hal brought Flip Pallot into the fold as his friend, with the savy knowledge that Flip would legitimize our little boat with his name once I got the final molds built and skiffs going out the door. 

Flips job was to be the sales man. As it turns out Flip still is the sales man. Hes one of the draws that gets people in the door. But I still feel its the way the skiffs are built and how they performed that really made it all work. It just needed all three of us to get the word out there.

My job was to make it all happen on the shop floor. As it turned out I became the salesman too along with a lot of other things that drove me nuts at times. Anyone that bought the first 320 boats that were built look at your bill of sale... Most likely 2/3 rds  of the skiffs were sold by me. 

 After sailing about the Atlantic I ended up years ago in St. Augustine Florida. Hal Chittum was Abuilding his latest skiff down the road from where I was to be building a large racing multihull. We had not talked since I left HB and I got my lawyer to talk to his so we could settle out and we could move on. 

I like to move on, forgive and start over if possible. Hal did not know I was in town. I walked into his shop and tapped him on the back. He turned around and gave me a huge hug lifting me off my feet.

All was as before, we spent hours going over his new boat design. He told me I was the smart one to get out clean. We have since then talked via emails now and then. 

I have not talked to Flip personally since my last year at HB. 

It would be great if the three of us could all sit down together and tell stories of the early years. But Iam afraid that it will never happen. Iam willing.In the mean time I will be correcting Chris Pettersons redirection of his vision of what really came about as he goes along in this blog.

Flip Pallot was there at the beginning but not as the single founder of Hells Bay Boatworks.

Chris Petterson, be a stand up guy and put Hal Chittums name back on Hells Bay Boatworks company letter head history and lets all move along.

And get a better editor. Its " ONE " of the founders of Hells Bay.

 

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Boat Plans Nz | Cape to Rio Race Starts Tomorrow

Boat Plans Nz

It has been a long slog to get here and, strange as it may seem, even now I am not sure where "here" is. We need to be on the start line in Table Bay at 14h00 South African Time (UTC+2) and have been working toward that goal for a year. Now that we are almost there time-wise, we have had all sorts of issues popping up to try to trip us and prevent our participation. Each time that we side-step an issue, another appears in its place.

These are not problems that are directly related to the boat, neither are they related to most of the crew. I cant say what they are but they have been a major distraction in our preparations, detouring our efforts and moving our focus from much needed work into stuff that really should not be on our minds at this stage of preparations. These issues sap energy and drain enthusiasm. It takes effort to maintain optimism, which is normally self-fortifying.

We expect to be on the start line tomorrow and will be deeply disappointed if we should be prevented from going. Only time will tell whether or not we will be there. Watch for the yellow boat if you are able to watch it live, or maybe recorded live (whatever that means).

From here on I will not be posting on this blog live until after the race is over and I return to USA. I will be sending email updates to my wife, Dehlia. She will be posting on the blog but it will probably be without photos. Our Internet connections via satellite phone will be too slow to transfer photo files. If we have something really special to show then we may make an exception.

So please follow us via the tracking link on the race website at http://cape2rio2014.com. This is not a clickable link, so please copy and paste into your browsers address window.

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Boat Plans Canada | Didi 950 Build Started

Boat Plans Canada

Michael Vermeersch of Ohio commissioned the Didi 950 design and has now started construction of his boat. He is building from a pre-cut plywood kit that was supplied by Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis. The kit arrived as 61 sheets of plywood with all components accurately cut by CNC router and packed on 2 pallets.

Michael reports that he is progressing well with the assembly of the backbone and bulkheads and that everything is fitting together beautifully. A few more bulkheads to go, then he will be ready to start setting up on the building stocks.

Michael with wife Pat & daughter Catherine.

Since adding this design to our stock design list, another three boats have been started. They are in Australia, Greece and Latvia.

The Didi 950 is drawn to the Class 950 Rule and detailed for building by the radius chine plywood construction method. It can be built from plans only or from a kit. Kits are currently available in USA but can be supplied by most of our international kit suppliers as well. Enquire with the supplier in your area and I will send the files to them for pricing. Note that for USA you must order from us, you cannot order it directly from Chesapeake Light Craft.

For our full range of designs, please visit http://dixdesign.com/.

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Boat Plans Aluminium | Long Distance in a Bigger Boat

Boat Plans Aluminium

My last post was about people going long distance in small boats and most of my readers know that I am soon to go long distance in a slightly bigger boat. This will be on the Didi 38 "Black Cat".

She is well on the way to being ready, with smaller items like installation of new electronics going on and the major still outstanding items being to tune the rig and test the new sails (which have still to be delivered). She is looking awesome, after a full repaint and new graphics. This 18-year old lady is looking young again.

"Black Cat" with her new paint & graphics.

Preparation of "Black Cat" for her next adventure has been a lengthy process but a worthwhile one. It was unfortunately extended by 2 weeks due to damage sustained at Royal Cape Yacht Club during a gale just after she was relaunched when the repaint had been completed. Cape Town is well known for furious winds and this one apparently gusted to 75 knots in the yacht basin. Some mooring chains holding the marinas broke and "Black Cat" was in the unfortunate position of serving as the meat in a steel sandwich, not good for a plywood boat.

My navigator for this race is Dave Immelman, nicknamed Wavy. Dave has been in charge of the preparations and has done a great job of it. That includes getting the extra work done that resulted from poor "Black Cat" getting squeezed tighter than any lady in a corset. She has been freed, repaired, repainted (again), given the OK by the doctor (scrutineer) and is raring to go.

New Cat logo on port side. Starboard has the butt end.

 This is a boys adventure on which we are embarking. As in 1996 and 2000, "Black Cat" will be the only lady enjoying it with us. That said, we would not be doing it without the support of the other ladies in the lives of all of the crew, namely wives, mothers, daughters and others. They tolerate our passion for boats, adventures and ocean crossings. Maybe some of them look forward to our departure to get us out of their hair, I dont know. I do know that they will be happy to see us again when we return and we will be equally happy to be greeted by them when our adventure is over. We will return home with another big drawer full of images in our memory banks, memories that cannot be equalled by any travel documentary or computer game, no-matter how good the filming or graphics may be.

For those who have never experienced this, it is a big one to add to your bucket list. Having done it 3 times before, I can say that it will take a big bucket if it is to hold other items that are bigger than this one. But you have to have a strong sense of adventure and not be easily scared. If you dont have those qualities you will be petrified at times, incapacitated by sheer terror while your shipmates are enjoying a great roller coaster ride that goes on for 2-4 weeks (depending on the speed of your chosen boat), with no chance of getting off the ride.

We have sailed this boat very hard in the past and the new go-fast goodies on her will help us to do so again. We sail her safely but we do so sometimes at very high speed, with lots of spray flying by and mixed in with flying fish, squid, albatross  and even the occasional sword fish. "The Cat" enjoys it and allows us to enjoy it with her.



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Boat Plans Australia | Our Cape to Rio Race Wrap up

Boat Plans Australia

First off I want to say thank you to all friends, family and supporters for all of the good wishes that have poured in following our experiences in the Cape to Rio Race the past few days. The five crew of "Black Cat" are all very grateful for the assistance received. As is always the case, stories have varied depending on the source and they have no doubt expanded with the telling and retelling. I will tell it from the very personal point of view of being right there in the middle of the action.

The weather briefing two days before the race start told us there there was bad weather expected and their advice was to sail due west as fast as possible to get through the system to the high that would follow. That would give us SW winds that would turn S then SE. With my navigator, Dave (Wavy) Immelman, we decided to follow that advice as the most logical route. The weatherman warned about being in the SW quadrant of the storm that would follow a day or two later.

The race got off to a good start in light breezes, the course taking us around the perimeter of Table Bay. This was a good indicator for us of our chances of placing well in the race because we were very quick, and staying in the lead group of 4 smaller boats trailing the 3 big guns that led the fleet. Our group opened up a large gap from the others behind us.

We sailed through the first night in gradually strengthening wind that gave squalls of 20-25 knots. Around daybreak the squalls started to intensify and broke through 30 knots with 18-20 knots between them. Feeling a bit over-powered in the squalls we were reefing the mainsail when a squall of somewhat over 40 knots hit us. We were now entering the SW winds behind the front, so I changed from our westerly course to a NW heading, taking pressure off the sails. Despite that, the wind over the deck increased, with gusts of over 50 knots that shredded our new carbon jib, leaving us under main only.

While changing from the #1 jib to the smaller #3, we were running before and gaining speed rapidly. Wavy was standing on the foredeck at the forestay, hauling down the tatters of the jib when we took off down a wave, accelerating to 22 knots. The waves were very short and steep and we ran straight into the back of the next wave, washing Wavy aft against the shrouds, spraining his ankle and inflating his automatic life-jacket. At the same time the tiller went sloppy in my hands. Although "Black Cat" was running fast and straight down the wave she was doing it on her own, we had no steering.

We dropped all sail and elected to sit out the worsening conditions before setting up a jury rudder to take us back to Cape Town. "Black Cat" was comfortable and in no danger. While we waited we saw the German entry "Iskareen" sail past from behind. We thought that this very fast boat was ahead of us so it came as a surprise to see them come past from well astern.

The wind and sea moderated quite quickly from that first storm and we put our minds to making a jury rudder from lazarette floor boards. Sean Collins went over onto the sugar-scoop to screw and strap it to the stub of the rudder that remained below the pintels. It worked reasonably but we treated it gingerly for fear of breaking it. We motored on a heading for Cape Town but as the day progressed the conditions slowly deteriorated as a second storm started to move in. I saw that we were not going to lay Cape Town so elected to rather head for the closer and easier Saldanha Bay.

As evening approached this storm grew progressively more violent. We were in the SW quadrant of the storm about which the weatherman had warned us. We had no desire to be in that position at that time but we had no choice in the matter. Fate had placed us there and we could only do our best to cope with the situation as it developed.

Around dusk there was a massive bang, a noise that sounded like the boat being ripped apart. Sean had shouted a warning from the cockpit that I cant repeat in present company but none of us heard it. Suddenly we were upside down and the cabin was filled with flying bodies and objects that were loose in the cabin and also those that were inside closed and latched lockers. I had been sleeping on the starboard saloon settee and had only a few seconds earlier stood up to walk aft to the cockpit. I was still in the saloon and was hit on my face and top of my head by unidentified flying debris, leaving me with minor cuts and a black eye.

The noise of this impact was so great and our up-turned position so alarming that I thought that the keel had come off. I was on the cabin roof and looked up at the bilge, all cabin soles having fallen out. I saw no gaping hole as I expected but shouted "Everybody out!!", still thinking that we had no keel. This all happened in a few seconds, then suddenly she was upright again and I knew that we still had a keel. We were left with an awful mess of food packages, cabin sole panels, tumblers, containers and anything else that managed to find its way out of its allotted place. And there was water everywhere. There had been some in the bilge but a lot more had come in through the companion hatch and a hole that we had no yet identified.

With no instruction from anyone this very capable crew automatically set about sorting out the chaos, first picking up anything that could block the bilge pumps before starting to pump out the water. The day fridge, which had been bolted into the saloon table, had relocated itself to the settee on which I had been lying only 30 seconds earlier. Three fire extinguishers, mounted in brackets from which they are removed vertically, all fell out when we were inverted and flew across to the starboard side of the cabin. Only two of the five onboard were in steel straps with locking mechanisms that held them firmly in place, the other three fell out and became lethal missiles.

Next we discovered what the hole was that had appeared in the deck. During the inversion process the tail of the mainsheet went over the side and attached itself to the propeller and wound itself up to the point that it stopped the diesel motor. It had so much tension in it that the force downward on the upper guardrail wire punched the nearest stanchion through the 12mm plywood deck. That left a hole about 75mm diameter into the locker below, where my clothes were. From there the water spread itself all over the starboard aft cabin, soaking everything that Wavy and I had in that cabin. That was all of our clothes, bedding, camera bags etc.

Of more consequence, the volume of water that came into the boat spread itself over the chart table, the lid of which had ripped right off, and into the electrical panel and electronics. The two satellite phones and main VHF radio were drowned, leaving us with only a hand-held VHF of limited range with which to communicate. Smelling smoke, Wavy opened the electrical panel to see smoke coming out but it didnt develop into a fire.

Time stands still in these situations. I have no idea how long it took us to clean up the boat but she was back to a semblance of ship-shape before too long. The hole in the deck was plugged as well as possible with some muti that we had brought onboard the day before the race start.

In the midst of all this Sean came down from the cockpit and described what had happened. From inside the boat we had no idea, it was just massive noise and upside-downness.

Sean, a surfer like me, says that he suddenly felt the same feeling as when caught inside the impact zone of a big surf break, where you have no way of escaping the beating that is about to be dealt to you and you just have to take it on the head and cope with it. He did not see the wave coming but became aware of it as it loomed over the boat. It was very large and broke as a hollow tubing wave completely enveloping "Black Cat". She rose up the face of the wave, rotating as she rose until she was hanging from the roof of the tube. Then she fell or was thrown down the face of the wave with the mast going in first. The crash that I heard inside the boat must have been the cabin and deck hitting the water. While this was happening I also looked into the cockpit for Sean and he was hanging from a winch or whatever he had been able to grab as the wave reared up. I required that all crew be hooked on with safety harnesses before going on deck but Sean was hanging on so tight that his harness had no work to do.

This wave was much bigger and more violent than any others we had felt or seen. If that one could clobber us there may also be others, so we streamed warps from the bow and deployed the storm jib as a sea anchor to try to hold her bow-on to the waves. These did not seem to help much because the underwater current seemed to be pretty much the same speed as our drift. We didnt get her to lie more than about 20-25 degrees from broadside-on to the waves but it seemed to be enough to ease the motion a bit and cause other breaking waves to roll past the port quarter instead of hitting us amidships.

The worsening storm and loss of major communications prompted us to ask Cape Town Radio to put out a Pan-Pan message on our behalf to warn of our location in the shipping lane and to ask for the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) to be called to our assistance. We advised that we were in no immediate danger but would appreciate assistance when it could be provided. We switched on the EPIRB to give a signal for rescue services to home in on. We had AIS onboard but it had flooded along with the other instruments at the nav table.

Initially the assistance came in the form of the fishing vessel "Miriam Makeba" heading our way. When they were still a few miles away the navy frigate SAS Isandlwana took over control of the widespread rescue efforts and released the fishing vessel to continue fishing. As the frigate approached in the rain they asked us to send up a flare, then another, to help them to locate us. Once they had located us we confirmed that we were in no immediate danger and they headed off to take care of people and boats that were in much more serious situations.

In the morning conditions again subsided. Wavy went over the side in his diving gear to free the mainsheet from the prop, which allowed us to restart the motor. At the same time he swam the length of the underbody to check for damage or other problems. A new and improved version of the jury rudder was fabricated from more plywood cannibalised from the lazarette and we continued on our journey toward Saldanha Bay at 4-5 knots under our own power. We were well set to reach there during the night.

Early afternoon the NSRI Rescue 3 arrived from Cape Town. They offered us the choice of continuing under our own steam to Saldanha Bay or accepting their tow back to Cape Town. Proceeding to Saldanha Bay presented logistical problems for crew and boat, so we took the tow and headed for Cape Town at 10 knots.

Manoeuvring into the RCYC basin proved to be more difficult than anticipated because the jury rudder boards added to the starboard side of the rudder severely limited rudder movement in that direction. Add a pomping SE gale and we sorely needed the welcoming hands on the dock to catch us as we came in at rather high speed and with negligible control.

Now "Black Cat" is safely back in port but she has some more patching to be done to her. This is for the hole in the deck from the stanchion and for the spot where her bow kissed the marina rather harder than necessary on our return.

My big question out of all of this was "Why did the rudder break?". It had a solid Iroko spine nearly 100mm thick and 150mm wide, extending top to bottom, with plywood fairing to leading and trailing edges. That is a massive piece of timber that can easily support a large car and really should not have been broken by a 22 knot surf. The answer came from the owner, Adrian Pearson. He told me that when "Black Cat" was squeezed between the steel RCYC marinas a few weeks ago when the mooring chains broke, it was not only the hull and keel that were damaged. He said that the rudder was also "graunched". If that is so, it may have started a fracture of the rudder spine that culminated in the blade shearing off at high speed.

We are all very disappointed that our race had to end this way. We were going so well and must have been in with a reasonable chance for a top result. Unfortunately, we will now never know. We are just glad to be back on land safely and are very grateful to NSRI and the crew of Rescue 3 for their part in it, as well as the "Miriam Makeba" and SAS Isandlwana.

I also want to thank the crew of "Black Cat" for being such great and capable shipmates, always ready to do the right thing and with a smile.

Adrian Pearson (owner)
Dave (Wavy) Immelman (Navigator)
Sean (Buttercup) Collins
Gavin (Doris) Muller

And a big thank you must also go to our  Didi 38 "Black Cat". She took a hammering on our behalf and came through with negligible structural damage.

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Boat Plans At Mystic Seaport | Long Distance in Small Boats

Boat Plans At Mystic Seaport

For as long as man has been on this gorgeous blue planet of ours he has sought to find adventure wherever he can. There have always been those who simply have to see what is over that next hill. When we all know what is over that next hill then the adventure becomes going over that next hill in some way that has never been done before. It has probably not been done that way before because it is just too big a challenge for most people to consider trying.

That insurmountable challenge is the best of reasons for some people to try it anyway, to prove that it actually can be done and to prove themselves to themselves. In the process of succeeding they also prove themselves to the rest of mankind. Some of mankind thinks it exceedingly silly to do these things and will be eternally critical of those who try. They have no adventurous spirit themselves and would never attempt anything that they consider the least bit risky or dangerous. Some of them become bureaucrats to control others or they encourage bureaucrats to stop the adventurers from being adventurous, a misguided attempt to protect them from themselves.

I have written here before about one such adventurous person, Anthony Steward. He is the only person to have sailed around the world in an open boat. I am fortunate that Anthony selected my TLC 19 hull as the basis for his open boat voyage. Everyone thought that he was crazy in his quest but he was permitted to do it. That is how it should be.

Now I am working on a design for another person who has the aim of circumnavigating the globe in a different way from how everyone else has done it before. His name is Davey du Plessis and he plans to peddle his way around the world. My job is to provide to him the boat that I believe will give him his best chance for success. At the same time, it has to be economical to construct because he is on a tight budget for the voyage.

The result is a multi-chine plywood craft of approximately 23ft length overall. The hull is of fairly classic form that will also make an excellent pulling boat. It has a fine bow at waterline for wave penetration and a fine stern for low drag at the low speeds that can be expected under long term human power.

Hull of the Ocean Peddle Boat for Davey du Plessis.

The superstructure is also multi-chine plywood, so that it can be quickly and easily built using stitch-&-glue building methods. It is a closed boat for maximum protection from the elements but with the ability to open up large surfaces of the central cockpit area to allow air to flow through when needed. This also increases the safety tremendously in rough conditions, making her essentially self-righting if all of the gear is properly stowed and secured.

Basic 3D model of hull and deck.

The model above is very basic, it doesnt show the details of the deck, like windows, opening panels, hatches, solar panels etc, which are detailed into the building drawings.

The whole concept is conceived to make a seaworthy boat. It is not designed for speed, it is designed for cruising slowly under human power, aided where possible by wind, wave and current.

What about the crazy man who will live long term inside this eggshell? Maybe Davey is not as crazy as you think or maybe he is more crazy than you think, I doubt that he knows for sure. He is no doubt less crazy than Anthony Steward because Davey has chosen to have a boat that will give him shelter for his long voyage. Does Davey du Plessis have the legs for this voyage? You can bet that he does, he has ridden a bicycle the length of Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town. Davey is an adventurer and I applaud him for it.

Daveys boat will be built in Knysna on the South African South Coast. The builder is his uncle, Tertius du Plessis, who has previously built one of my designs, a Didi 34.  I doubt that I will even get to see Daveys boat because his route is unlikely to pass anywhere near to me in USA.

I will add this boat to my website when the design is complete. I will no doubt offer it as an open pulling boat but it is possible that there are others who would also like to build it as a trans-ocean rowboat or peddleboat.

To see our full range of designs, please visit http://dixdesign.com/.


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Boat Plans Catamaran | Cape to Rio 2014 Black Cat Preparations

Boat Plans Catamaran

Start day for Cape to Rio 2014 draws near, now only 4 days away. Preparation of our radius chine plywood Didi 38 "Black Cat" continues. Most of the big jobs have been completed but somehow the list of smaller ones never ends.

Earlier this week we were able to go sailing for a few hours to try some of the new sails, all made by the North Sails Cape Town loft. The mainsail and jib are both carbon and are a real treat to use. They set beautifully to the designed shape and are very stable. There was a bit of swell running and I found the sails to be easier to helm to than the previous laminated Dacron sails, with the sail shape not changing from surging in the swell as happens with a softer sail.

North carbon jib. Sexy see-through clothing.

Photographic conditions were not great, so these are not the best of photos. They show the new carbon mainsail and jib. For purposes of optimising our IRC rating for the race, sail area has been reduced in the headsails, with our big (and very old) Genoas with large overlap gone for good, replaced by a jib that hardly overlaps the mast, does not foul the spreaders or shrouds and is very quick to tack. It also sheets very close and allows "Black Cat" to now sail very close to the wind. This will be a great sail any time that we have to go to windward.

North carbon mainsail

The reduction in headsail area is somewhat compensated by the larger roach of the new mainsail. The larger roach and stiffer fabric means that there is a lot more conflict between backstay and mainsail, so she now has a flicker on the backstay, which you can see on the photos, to lift the top of the backstay away from the sail to allow it to pass through.

The new Code zero has massive area and showed itself to be surprisingly close-winded also, able to sheet to a very close reach, almost a beat. With large shoulders, it is also very stable and much easier to steer to than a conventional spinnaker. This sail rates as an asymmetrical spinnaker rather than a Genoa, allowing us to sail to windward with a spinnaker in light to moderate breezes.

I have written previously about some of our crew for this race. Without bio info from the other two, here is as much info as I can give for them from my own knowledge.

Dave Immelman is the normal skipper of "Black Cat" and has graciously moved into the navigator slot to allow me to come in as skipper. Dave is very experienced in competitive sailing, having crewed in the South African "Shosholoza" Americas Cup Team, a Volvo Ocean Race campaign and extensive racing in South Africa, UK and the Med. Dave is very tough as well, having rowed 3000 miles single-handed across the North Atlantic Ocean. It was intended to be a double-handed voyage but his partner took ill and was taken off the boat very soon after the start and Dave decided to continue by himself.  We will have many interesting stories to swap on this next voyage. Dave is married to Susan, an award-winning seafood chef. They have a daughter of 5 and another arriving while we are mid-Atlantic.

Dave Immelman at the time of his rowing voyage.

Adrian Pearson is the owner of "Black Cat". He was my partner in her from during construction through to 2000, when he took over full ownership. Adrian loves to sail on her but does not often skipper her, preferring to hand over that job to someone with more experience. Not that Adrian lacks ocean experience, he was in my crew for the 1996 and 2000 Cape to Rio Races, crewed on her for the return from Rio in 2000 and did many coastal regattas and races with me around the Cape of Good Hope. Adrian is a retailer in Johannesburg, co-owner of a large grocery store.  He is currently unattached and has two sons and a daughter.

Dont forget that you will be able to track our progress across the Atlantic. Go to the official race website Cape to Rio 2014 and click on the tracking link at upper right of the screen.

I should be able to make one more post before we sail away. I hope to make an occasional post while on the water but cant guarantee that it will happen. Our Internet connection will be via costly satellite phones so has to be used sparingly. We will have a separate boat blog for the race and I will post the address of that blog in my next post here.

Read about our designs at http://dixdesign.com/.



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